Impact of Neural Network Configuration

This section provides a tutorial example to demonstrate the impact of the neuron network configuration on the number of hidden layers and the number of neurons in each hidden layer. Less layers with more neurons per layer seems to be better than more layers with less neurons per layers.

When using a multi-layer neural network, we need to consider its configuration on the number of hidden layers and the number of neurons in each hidden layer. The most frequently asked question is: "Should I use more hidden layers or more neurons in each layer if the total number of neurons is fixed?".

Let's see if we can find the answer by solving the complex classification problem in Deep Playground.

1. Continue with the previous tutorial.

2. Set "Ratio of training to test data" to 90%.

3. Change the hidden layer configuration to 2 layers with 6 neurons in each layer. The total number of neurons is 12.

4. Play the model. It should reach a good solution with no problem.

Deep Playground - Complex Model with 2 x 6 Hidden Layers
Deep Playground - Complex Model with 2 x 6 Hidden Layers

5. Change the hidden layer configuration to 3 layers with 4 neurons in each layer. The total number of neurons is 12, unchanged. Play the model again. It should reach a poor solution with a test loss of 0.298.

Deep Playground - Complex Model with 3 x 4 Hidden Layers
Deep Playground - Complex Model with 3 x 4 Hidden Layers

6. Change the hidden layer configuration to 4 layers with 3 neurons in each layer. The total number of neurons is 12, unchanged. Play the model again. It should reach a poor solution with a test loss of 0.301.

Deep Playground - Complex Model with 4 x 3 Hidden Layers
Deep Playground - Complex Model with 4 x 3 Hidden Layers

7. Change the hidden layer configuration to 6 layers with 2 neurons in each layer. The total number of neurons is 12, unchanged. Play the model again. It fails to reach any solution.

Deep Playground - Complex Model with 6 x 2 Hidden Layers
Deep Playground - Complex Model with 6 x 2 Hidden Layers

Conclusion, less layers with more neurons per layer seems to be better than more layers with less neurons per layers for a given total number of neurons.

Table of Contents

 About This Book

Deep Playground for Classical Neural Networks

 What Is Deep Playground

 Simple Model in Playground

 Impact of Extra Input Features

 Impact of Additional Hidden Layers and Neurons

 Complex Model in Playground

 Impact of Training Set Size

Impact of Neural Network Configuration

 Impact of Learning Rate

 Impact of Activation Functions

 Building Neural Networks with Python

 Simple Example of Neural Networks

 TensorFlow - Machine Learning Platform

 PyTorch - Machine Learning Platform

 Gradio - ML Demo Platform

 CNN (Convolutional Neural Network)

 RNN (Recurrent Neural Network)

 GNN (Graph Neural Network)

 GAN (Generative Adversarial Network)

 Performance Evaluation Metrics

 References

 Full Version in PDF/EPUB